Ice and post hole auger



Aug. 28, 1962 F. E. MOCANN ICE AND POST HOLE AUGER Filed Aug. 2, 1961INVENTOR. Floyd E. McCann BY M,M 8 me a- [flfirne s United States PatentOffice 3,951,253 Patented Aug. 28, 1962- 3,051,253 ICE AND P081 HQLEAUGER n Floyd E. McCann, Miiwaukee, Wis, assignor of one-hair to HerbertMcCann, Milwaukee, Wis. Filed Aug. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 128,756 7 Claims.(Cl. 175-18) The present invention relates generally to the art ofdrilling holes in ice or in the ground, and relates more particularly toimprovements in the construction and operation of portable ice augers orthe like.

A primary object of this invention is to provide an improved ice or posthole auger which is extremely simple and durable in construction andcapable of rapid production at low cost, and which is moreover highlyeihcient in actual use.

Augers or drills for forming holes in ice for fishing and for otherpurposes such as drilling post holes must meet various requirements, Notonly must they be of durable construction capable of withstandingconsiderable abuse, but they must be effective in rapidly performingtheir intended functions of drilling through ice of different hardnesscharacteristics and varying thicknesses without clogging. Then too,means must be provided for positively positioning the blade for itsstarting out while preventing lateral or radial displacement as thedrill is rotated and proceeds in its boring or drilling operation. It isimportant that the device perform these desired functions effectivelyand speedily with a minimum of effort on the part of the operator ormotive force, and for the sake of versatility, it is desirable that thecutting head and attendant parts be removable and readily replaceable aswell as useable either for hand operation or for power operations as byelectric motor or gas engine.

While many ice drills or angers have heretofore been proposed, none ofthese prior devices have satisfactorily met all of the foregoingrequirements, and while some of the available devices perform certainfunctions quite capably, it is only at a sacrifice in other areas.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved ice auger or drill which possesses all of the variousrequirements above mentioned and which obviates the disadvantages andobjections attendant prior devices of this general type.

Another object of my present invention is to provide an improved cuttinghead for ice drills which is selfcontained and which may be readilyapplied to or removed from the driven shaft of a prime mover and/or theoperating shaft of a hand drill for either powered or hand operationswith utmost efficiency.

Still another object of the invetnion is to provide an improved iceauger which embodies a unique positioning point which effectivelycooperates with the cutting edge of the blade to prevent radialdisplacement at all times and which is readily removable and replaceablefor sharpening while being self-cleaning in operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved ice augerwhich incorporates a novel work performing head having a flat generallysector-shaped blade and a detachable trailing hole cleaning blade ofhelical formation cooperating with and extending rearwardly and upwardlyfrom the cutting blade, the leading portion of the cutting blade havinga generally L-shaped cutting edge.

An additional important object of the present invention is to provide animproved ice auger which may be economically produced from availablematerials and which may be readily dismantled into a compact package,the assemblage also embodying a housing section for an extra positioningor locating point.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the construction of a typical hand operated iceauger embodying the present improvements and of the mode of operatingthe same may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forminga part of this specification wherein like reference characters designatethe same or similar parts in the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a typical completely assembledhand-operated ice auger embodying the invention, parts being broken awayto reveal normally hidden structure;

FIG. 2 is a somewhat enlarged perspective view of the assembled cuttinghead of the device removed from the operating shaft;

FIG. 3 is another enlarged bottom end view of the cutting head;

FIG. 4 is a likewise enlarged side elevational view of the cutting headbut with the hole cleaning blade removed therefrom;

FIG. 5 is a top end view of the cutting head with the hole cleaningblade again removed;

PEG. 6 is a further enlarged side elevation of one of the improvedpositioning points removed from the head; and

FIG. 7 is another side elevation of the positioning point rotatedclockwise ninety degrees from its position in FIG. 6.

While the improvements have been shown and described herein as beingspecifically embodied to advantage in a hand operated ice auger ordrill, it is not intended to unnecessarily limit the scope or utility ofthe invention by reason of such specific embodiment since the improvedcutting head may be used to like advantage in conjunction with asuitable power source or prime mover. It is also contemplated thatcertain specific descriptive terms used herein shall be given thebroadest possible interpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawing, the improved cutting head, designatedgenerally by the numeral 10, is illustrated in FIG. 1 as beingdetachably secured to the end of a shaft section or extension 11 as bymeans of a bolt 12 or the like, the other end of the shaft 11 projectingpartially into one end of a section of tubing =13 and being securedthereto in any suitable manner as by means of a bolt 14. In turn, theend of the operating shaft 15 of a hand brace, generally designated bythe numeral 17, is telescoped within the other end of the tube section 13 and is detachably secured thereto by means of a bolt 16 or the like,the hand brace 17 including crank arms 18, 19 joined by a hand gripportion 2% with the arm 19 being provided with an end thrust member 21concentric with the operating shaft 15. By means of this arrangement,the tubular section 13 provides a convenient housing for an extrapositioning point 22, the construction and purpose of which will behereinafter described, and this extra point 22 may be positivelysuspended within the tube 13 as by means of a cotter pin 23 or the liketo prevent the same from sliding about and possibly becoming damaged.

While the operating device thus described and shown in FIG. 1 provides asuitable means for manual manipulation, it should be understood that thecutting head 10 may be secured either directly to the power driven shaftof a gasoline engine or other suitable prime mover, or it may be securedto such power driven shaft through the shaft extension 11 and/or thetubular section 13:.

The improved cutting head 10 comprises essentially a tubular body 24having a radiating fiat segmental cutting blade 25 rigidly securedthereto and a positioning point 32 projecting axially therefrom. Inaccordance with the invention, the blade is defined by a pair ofrectilinear edges 27, 28 intersecting at '39 and a circumferentialarcuate edge 29, the blade being secured to the tubular body 24 at anintermediate portion of the edge 27 at a slight oblique angle relativeto the tube axis as by welding or the like with the arcuatecircumferential edge 29 disposed concentrically of the tube 24 and theedges 27, 28 corresponding to intersecting chords. With the intersectingedges 27', 2S sharpened, a forwardly extending V-shaped cutting edgeportion 26 is provided in advance of the point of attachment of theblade 25 to the body 2 the point of intersection of the sharpened edges27', 28 being in close proximity to the tubular body 24- and beingarranged to advance ahead of the edges 27', 28 as the blade is rotatedclockwise.

The drill rod or positioning point 32 is detachably secured partiallywithin the tubular body 24 as by means of one or more machine screws orbolts 31 and has the outwardly projecting portion 33 thereof taperedfrom opposite sides and flattened into a plane disposed diametrically ofthe tube, the point terminating in intersecting wedge shaped sharpenededges 34, 35 with the extending portion 33 of the point 32 beingdisposed in a plane approximately parallel to the plane of the cuttingedge 28 of the blade 25. Also, the upper end of the projecting portion33 of the point 32 and the adjacent end of the tube 24 are bothangularly tapered to a somewhat higher point on the cutting side than onthe trailing side as at 36 to thereby permit the displaced ice to beforced radially outwardly above the cutting blade 25 as the drill isrotated in a clockwise direction.

To aid in rigidly securing the blade 25 to the tubular body 24, anL-shaped bracket '37 is provided, the bracket having the end of the leg38 thereof rigidly secured as by welding to the tubular body 24 with theend of the other leg 39 rigidly secured as by welding to the arcuateedge 29 of the blade 25 rearwardly of the cutting edge 28. This bracket37 thus aids in positively rigidly securing the blade 25 in position,and it also cooperates with this blade to detachably receive a helicalhole cleaning blade 46 and retain the same in position when such holecleaner is required, the forward end portion of the hole cleaning blade40 being attachable as by means of a machine screw or bolt 41 to thetrailing portion of the blade 25 and the trailing portion of the holecleaning blade 40 being attachable to the leg 38 of the brace 37 as bymeans of a machine screw or bolt 42.

In operation, the tapered pointed edges '34, 35 of the positioning point32 are placed at the desired location on the ice, and as pressure isapplied and the drill head 10 is rotated in a clockwise direction bymeans of the hand brace 17, the point is driven into the ice and thecutting edges of the blade 25 operate to cut into and through the iceabout a circumferential path, the corner or intersection 30 of thecutting edges 27, 28 initiating the cutting action and causing removalof the ice from the vicinity adjacent to the positioning point 32. Sincethe wedge shaped end of the point 32 lies in a plane perpendicular tothe cutting edge 27' and parallel with the cutting edge 28, radialthrust is properly absorbed and lateral or radial displacement of thedrill is prevented by the positioning point as the drill is rotated andperforms its cutting operation. The hole cleaning blade 40 is, ofcourse, not always required, but when a deep hole is being drilled inthe ice, the blade 40 may be readily applied in a simple and obviousmanner.

From the foregoing detailed description, it is believed apparent that anextremely simple, compact and durable ice auger has been provided whichhas a novel cutting head which is extremely simple yet highly effectivein properly positioning and in efficiently cutting through iceformations. The assemblage also includes a housing for a point 22 whichmay or may not be of the same design and size as the point 32 and whichmay be used interchangeably therewith as required, and the improveddevice has, in fact, proven highly satisfactory in actual use. Also,while the improved device has been shown and described herein as beingespecially adapted for drilling holes in ice, it can be used to equaladvantage for forming post holes or the like in the ground, and whenused for drilling post holes, a somewhat longer point 22 is preferablyutilized which may be conveniently stored, as shown in FIG. 1 in thetubular housing 13.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention.

1 claim:

1. A cutting head for a hole digger comprising, a tubular body, a fiatsegmental cutting blade bounded by an arc and by two intersectingchords, said blade being rigidly attached to said body at anintermediate portion of one of said chords at an oblique angle relativeto the axis of said body with the are being disposed concentricallythereof and the other chord being located in advance of said body toprovide a cutting area radiating therefrom, and a flat centering pointextending axially from said tubular body in a plane approximatelyparallel to said other chord.

2. A cutting head for an ice drill comprising, a tubular body, a fiatsegmental cutting blade bounded by an arc and by two intersectingchords, said blade being rigidly attached to said body at anintermediate portion of one of said chords at an oblique angle relativeto the axis of said body with the arc being disposed concentricallythereof and the other chord being located in advance of said body toprovide a cutting area radiating therefrom, and a flat centering pointextending axially from said tubular body in a plane approximatelyparallel to said other chord, the flat point remote from its lower endbeing tapered outwardly thereacross at an oblique angle relative to itsaxis to thereby direct ice displaced by said point into the path of saidcutting blade.

3. A cutting head for an ice drill comprising, a tubular body, a flatsegmental cutting blade bounded by an arc and by two intersectingchords, said blade being rigidly attached to said body at anintermediate portion of one of said chords at an oblique angle relativeto the axis of said body with the are being disposed concentricallythereof and the other chord being located in advance of said body, saidchords being sharpened to provide a V-shaped cutting edge radiating fromsaid body, and a flat centering point extending axially from saidtubular body in a plane approximately parallel to said other chord.

4. A cutting head for an ice drill comprising, a tubular body, a flatsegmental cutting blade bounded by a circumferential arcuate edge and bytwo intersecting chords, said blade being rigidly attached to said bodyat an intermediate portion of one of said chords at an oblique anglerelative to the axis of said body with the arcuate edge being disposedconcentrically thereof and the other chord being located in advance ofsaid body to provide a cutting area radiating therefrom, a braceextending between and rigidly secured at opposite ends thereof to saidbody and to the arcuate edge of said blade, and a flat centering pointextending axially from said tubular body in a plane approximatelyparallel to said other chord.

5. A cutting head for an ice drill comprising, a tubular body, a flatsegmental cutting blade bounded by a circumferential arcuate edge and bytwo intersecting chords, said blade being rigidly attached to said bodyat an intermediate portion of one of said chords at an oblique anglerelative to the axis of said body with the arcuate edge being disposedconcentrically thereof and the other chord being located in advance ofsaid body to provide a cutting area radiating therefrom, a braceextending between and rig dly secured at opposite ends thereof to saidbody and to the arcuate edge of said blade above the latter, a flatcentering point extending axially from said tubular body in a planeapproximately parallel to said other chord, and a helical hole cleaningblade detachably secured at its opposite ends to said cut ting blade andto said brace.

6. A cutting head for an ice drill comprising, a tubular body, a flatsegmental cutting blade bounded by a circumferential arcuate edge and bytwo intersecting chords, said blade being rigidly attached to said bodyat an intermediate portion of one of said chords at an oblique anglerelative to the axis of said body with the arcuate edge being disposedconcentrically thereof and the other chord being located in advance ofsaid body to provide a cutting area radiating therefrom, an L- shapedbrace extending between said body and the arcuate edge of said bladeabove the latter, one of the legs of said brace being rigidly attachedto said body and the other leg thereof being rigidly attached to saidblade, a flat centering point extending axially from said tubular bodyin a plane approximately parallel to said other chord, and a helicalhole cleaning blade detachably secured at its forward end to saidcutting blade and detachably secured at its trailing end to said one legof said brace.

7. In an ice auger, a cutting head including a tubular body, a flatsegmental cutting blade bounded by an arc and by two intersecting chordsand rigidly attached to said body at an intermediate portion of one ofsaid chords at an oblique angle relative to the axis of said body, and acentering point detachably secured to and extending axially from one endof said tubular body to a. point below said cutting blade; an operatingshaft attached to and extending from the other end of said tubular body;means operatively associated with said shaft for rotating the same; anda tubular section interposed between Said shaft and said operating meansfor housing an extra positioning point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS161,374 Arnold Mar. 30, 1875 20 2,329,388 Brown Sept. 14, 1943 2,591,233Browne Apr. 1, 1952 2,733,047 Morgan Jan. 31, 1956

